The Difficulty Of Other's Love
by Randomblackberry
Summary: A fic set post-Bravely Second, in which Edea is NOT salty, Yew is confused, and Tiz just wants to help. However, the universe may have been better off without his interference.


**Hey, long time no see, guys! Yeah this ain't Happy Birthday, or a Drabble for I Think I Love You. This is some weird, standalone, not entirely serious, rushed, nonsensical story set after Bravely Second. Pairings are Yew/Magnolia Tiz/Agnés, Edea/Alternis and Ringabel/Edea.**

Edea Lee was NOT salty. Everyone could think what they wanted, but Edea's reaction to her friends' engagements consisted of a teasing 'about time', and a hard slap on the back and congratulations.

The group had come together for lunch at Al-khampis. Halfway through her starter, Edea had noticed the fact that Agnés and Tiz, and Yew and Magnolia, were sitting suspiciously close together. She had commented on it, grinning mischievously, and had been surprised when they had nodded firmly, with only minimal blushing.

"We're getting married." both couples said, and woah there, it took a while for those words to fully register in Edea's brain because, Tiz, the blockhead, and Yew, the blockier blockhead, had both mustered up the courage to take that step with the girls they loved?

They were going to get MARRIED.

Crystals, Edea thought all of a sudden. I'm old. Everyone else is getting married, and settling down, and here I am, not even dating anyone! I'm going to grow old alone, and already I'm crusty and ancient and nearly twenty years old!

Wait. Hold it. Her age wasn't old. After reassuring herself of that fact, Edea had slapped Yew on the back (he winced, but thanked her), teased Tiz about him gaining the courage to finally ask her out, (only to discover that it was Agnés who had made the proposal, not him), and had demanded for more food to be sent to their table to celebrate.

Edea didn't really think about loneliness until later into the meal.

"You'll be the maid of honour, of course, Edea." Agnés smiled, eating her salad with utmost care.

Despite no longer being a vegetarian, Agnés tended to avoid meat whenever possible anyways. Which meant whilst they were all digging into hearty steaks, she was nibbling what looked like a terribly unsatisfying meal.

Edea wrinkled her nose, trying to imagine herself in some kind of bridesmaid dress. It wasn't a pretty picture. "Uh, thanks? I'm not sure I'd look good in those types of dresses though. Doesn't do wonders for my figure."

" _Ah la vache!"_ Magnolia exclaimed. "But what about your own wedding Edea! You'd have to wear a big dress then!"

"My...Own wedding?"

"Well you have to settle down eventually, don't you?" Magnolia persisted.

Edea nodded. "Uh, yeah. I will. Eventually."

Despite her hope that that would be the end of the subject, Agnés continued the topic.

"Have you been seeing anyone lately, Edea?"

Magnolia answered before Edea could. "You're saving yourself for that Ringabel fellow, aren't you?"

Agnés perked up. "It's a pity I didn't get to see Ringabel. It's been two years after all. I presume you and him are getting along as well as ever, Edea?"

Edea frowned, not liking the direction the conversation was taking. "Well I haven't seen him since the incident with Yöko. And back then he was just as glimmerous as ever. Perhaps even more so than normal."

Tiz nodded slightly. "Well he was certainly... enthusiastic."

Magnolia pressed herself closer to Yew, who turned bright scarlet at the mere touch. " _Il est trés charmant!_ Any idea of when he'll return?"

Edea snorted, and took a loud gulp of her coffee. "The weirdo said that all I had to do was call his name and he'd come running. What does he think he is, some kind of genie?"

Yew shifted away from Magnolia slightly. "Yeah. Sir Ringabel was a lot different to you, sir-I mean... Tiz."

Tiz laughed a little, sounding slightly nostalgic. "Yeah, Ringabel was different to all of us."

Edea stared down at her coffee, fingers tightening around the mug. Magnolia smiled at her, as she tried to capture Yew in a hug.

"Don't worry, Edea. _Il va revenir!"_

"I don't know what you said, but I'm going to presume it's something helpful." Edea narrowed her eyes at the ba'al buster, and then signed. "Now, can we talk about the food we're going to have at these weddings instead? Because if I leave it up to you guys we'll be having the plainest food money can buy."

So the conversation had moved onto safer topics, leaving Edea to muse about loneliness and abandonment whilst occasionally interjecting into the conversation with a comment about food.

Altair had told her to go to the man that was waiting for her. But it was the other way around. Edea was waiting for him, waiting for Ringabel to finish whatever insane mission he was on.

But he'd come back.

And in the meantime, she was NOT salty.

Yew had returned to Gathelathio, Magnolia in tow, going to live in the Geneolgia Manor, which in all fairness, was far too big for them. The group gathered there at least once a week, and more often than not there were other people there, Master, with Minette, (although Bismarck was forbidden and stayed at home with Tsubaki), Professor Norzen, Janne, Nikolai, Lotus, Sakura and many more. The food that Alfred cooked up was truly divine, and beat any of the foods that they had made in their journey admittedly. It was after one of these routine visits that Tiz had approached her, and spoken.

"Edea. Are you alright? I've noticed that you've been less comfortable of late."

Edea nearly laughed. For all she teased Tiz on his lack of social cues, he was more often than not, the most empathetic of the group. He always knew when something was bothering someone.

"It's nothing, Tiz. Just my duties at Eternia are proving stressful."

That was true. Being the leader of Eternia was very different to being the leader's daughter. There were countless responsibilities, and if she didn't have poor Alternis working as some kind of partner and or secretary, the whole Central Command would have gone up in flames due to her negligence.

Tiz nodded understandingly. "Ah, I'm sorry. The rest of us get to live our lives in peace, but you're Grand Marshal now, huh?"

"It's not so bad," Edea reassured him. "Everyone's really dedicated. Besides. It's Alternis who does the real work."

Tiz smiled a little. "Poor guy. He'd do anything for you, you know? He's just not very good at expressing his feelings to you."

Edea snorted. "Yeah, proposing in the middle of battle is not what I'd call an appropriate time." she felt a bit bad, moments after she spoke. In the two instances in which he had mentioned marriage, she had responded rather harshly. Aka, she had practically crushed the poor guy's dreams. Alternis was now respectful, strict, and reserved around her, nothing like the dark knight she knew, or the man in another world she used to know.

"I'll admit that, that was a little bit hasty." Tiz sighed, and Edea could almost hear the but, coming on. "But," there it was. "You should treat him with a bit more respect Edea. Didn't he used to be a good friend of yours?"

Edea let out a groan. "Okay Tiz, I get what you're saying."

Tiz perked up considerably. "You do?"

Edea steeled herself. "You marry Agnés, Yew will marry Magnolia, and I'll make out with Alternis! Simple."

Tiz choked on seemingly air, and took several minutes to remedy himself. "Edea. I didn't mean..."

Edea scowled, and folded her arms. "Tiz, I know you're a giant blockhead, but I'm not. I know you want me to get over Ringabel and date Alternis instead."

"I do?" Tiz echoed, the sound coming out as a pathetic squeak.

"Ugh, yeah Tiz, you're an open book. You keep talking about how Ringabel and Alternis are totally different people, and how happy you'll be when Ringabel's back, but until then, I should be nice to his counterpart, because he has a giant crush on me, and I haven't camly and kindly responded to his proposals! Ugh, Tiz! You're so transparent sometimes, it's mind numbing! I'll give it a go! Alright!" Edea threw her hands up in the air.

Tiz gaped. "You... You will?"

"Yes." Edea affirmed. "I swear on the crystals, that I will try and seduce Alternis Dim!"

Tiz looked as if he was about to have a stroke. Which would be an awful shame of course, him being newly engaged and all. Also, they had had enough of Tiz 'dying' on them, thank you very much.

"Um. Tiz? Are you alright?" Edea asked her companion, reaching over to poke him.

Tiz blinked, and then snapped out of his funk. "Edea, I just want you to value him as a better friend-"

Edea interrupted him before he could finish. "And if I do that... He'll get ideas into his head! Remember! He's got the same genes as Ringabel! Who knows how he could turn out if I got too close to him!"

Tiz moaned slightly. "We've been over this, Edea. Alternis and Ringabel are different people. Just because they used to be kind of the same person means nothing."

Edea shrugged. "They're definitely similar. They both have the same 'must protect Edea, without fail!' instinct, the idiots."

Tiz smiled. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it? It just means they care about you,"

Edea sighed. "Okay, okay, I'm going to go make out with Alternis."

Tiz's face fell comically. "That's... That's not what I meant..."

But Edea was already gone.

Magnolia peeked her head around the corner, catching sight of Tiz's confused face.

"Tiz? Quelle probléme?"

"Edea's..." Tiz trailed off. "Edea's so salty."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Hey, Alternis." Edea called. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Alternis turned, bowing his head at her. "M'lady. Is there a problem?

Edea bit her lip, already feeling annoyed. "Let's try that again, Alternis. My name's Edea. You used to call me that."

Alternis avoided her gaze, and Edea wished to see the expression under that helmet. Part of her wished she would take it off, but then she would see that face, the one she associated with Ringabel more than anyone else.

"I...I gathered that you didn't want me calling you that anymore. "he rasped.

Edea sighed. "Look. I know I've been sort of a brat lately, but we're still friends. My new position, the fact that we've fought in the past means nothing. It shouldn't hurt our friendship."

"E-Edea." Alternis stuttered. "I didn't mean to-"

Edea felt a twinge of pity for her knight in black armour. "I know you weren't trying to distance yourself from me, or hide because of my position. It was because of him. Right?"

"You've found happiness, Edea. I don't appreciate the vagrant's ways, but if he makes you happy, then I will support you." Alternis's voice darkened slightly at the obvious lie.

"You don't have to lie to me, Alternis. I know you were somewhat infatuated with me, even when we were younger. There's no reason for those feelings to change." Edea reassured him, wanting to press a hand on the man's shoulder, but feeling that the gesture would be unwanted.

"The Lord Marshal... Uh, Sir Braev, he told me that the man you loved was a me from a different dimension. But seeing him, conversing with him... We are not the same."

"You're not." Edea agreed, surprising both him, and herself. "You're Alternis Dim, and he's Ringabel... Ringabel... He doesn't have a last name to go with that, huh? I guess he's Ringabel Dim. You two are like brothers!"

Alternis let out a noise of surprise, but it was distorted by the helmet. "Our similarities are hugely outweighed by our differences."

Edea paused. "Huh. I mean. You're wired similarly. You really are like brothers, except Ringabel's a weirdo, and you're more formal and refined. The differences you have are minor, but they're enough to set you worlds apart."

Alternis seemed somewhat confused, although at least that's what Edea gathered by the tone of his voice. "E-Edea? I don't see what this means..."

"I'm. I'm sorry. I never gave you a chance before." Edea interrupted him. "We were in battle, and it was so sudden, and I could hardly say yes, could I?"

Alternis hung his head, or rather, his helmet. "Forgive me, Edea. I didn't mean to put pressure on you-"

"Oh, shut up, you." Edea sighed, and then flung her arms around the older man in a friendly hug.

Alternis stiffened, and then slowly patted her on the back.

They stayed like that for a few awkward moments, before Edea pulled back. "Alternis! That armour's all spiky! Consider taking it off everyone now and then! Don't be like my father and wear it even in retirement!" Edea scolded, and then softened. "And the helmet as well. You can... You can take it off sometimes."

Alternis shook his head sadly. "That'll just remind you of...him."

Edea stamped her foot in a childish manner, and summoned all the authority she could muster into her voice. "The universe doesn't revolve around me, Alternis! I want you to be happy too!"

Slowly, oh so slowly, the dark knight reached up to his face, and removed the helmet. Edea stared at her friend's face, and found herself relieved at the fact that it wasn't as similar to Ringabel's as she thought. There was a scar underneath his eyeline that Ringabel didn't have, and a couple of freckles dotting his chin. His hair...his hair had clearly been the target of a fit of rage, messily hacked off, lacking Ringabel's elegance and style. Edea stood on tiptoes and tousled it, sighing.

"Let me style it for you, Alternis." she offered.

Alternis took a step back. "You're the Grand Marshal, Edea! You can't go around doing things like this anymore!"

His voice sounded quite similar to Ringabel's, but huskier, with a different speech pattern.

Edea looked down at the ground. "Our positions don't have to make us, Alternis. There's still room for other things apart from our duties."

Alternis put his helmet back on his face, clearly feeling too exposed. "I have work to attend to."

Edea sighed, mumbling to herself. "Mrgrgr, Alternis never listens."

"But if there's a gap in my schedule, I'll... I'll tell you." Alternis added quietly.

Edea smiled.

-/-/-/-/-/

"Edea?" Tiz approached her warily, as if scared she would begin spouting stories of her and Alternis making out.

"Tiz, you were right." Edea admitted. "I'm so salty."

Tiz seemed taken aback. "W-What? I never said that?"

Edea folded her arms. "You said it to Magnolia right after I left."

"O-Oh."

"I just..." Edea continued. "I'm happy for you guys and all, but now everyone is together, and I'm still waiting for Ringabel to come home. I can't help but feel jealous, y'know?"

Tiz nodded. "I...I know how that feels. When Agnés... I've loved her far too long, y'know? And we've nearly lost each other too many times."

"I'll just have to wait a little longer, I suppose." Edea said with a sigh.

Tiz looked concerned. "Will you be okay?"

"Of course I will! Why wouldn't I be? I'm all ready to beat up Ringabel when he comes back, for leaving!" Edea exclaimed.

Tiz chuckled slightly, and then paused.

"J-Just for the record, you and Alternis are on only friendly terms, right?"

Edea nodded. "Yup, I made it clear that..." she stopped mid sentence. "I... I was actually pretty ambiguous... Oh crystals! He probably thinks that I want to date him now!"

Tiz sighed. "I'm sure Ringabel will react well to that."

Edea groaned comically. "Ugh, now I've gotta go knock the idea out of his stubborn little head!"

Tiz shook his head in amusement as she sped off. Magnolia, from her place not too far from the two of them, smiled.

"What's Edea going to do?" Yew asked curiously.

" _Elle va attends_." Magnolia said with a bright smile. "She's going to wait."

Yew looked utterly confused at her answer.

"Just don't be surprised if she ends up dating Alternis in the process, somehow." Tiz walked over to them, a faint smile on his face.

"Um, sir?" Yew questioned. "I'm confused. I think I'm missing something."

"Edea's just finding happiness." Agnés came out of nowhere, a smile on her face. "She's going to find love with the dark knight?"

Tiz blinked, and then shook his head rapidly. "No,no, guys that's not what I meant. This is all a big misunderstanding-"

"Ah la vache! This means that Ringabel fellow is free, then!" Magnolia exclaimed.

"H-Hey!" Yew protested.

"I was sure they would be together," Agnés said, sounding disappointed. "It seems as if I've lost the bet."

Tiz took a step back. "The bet? The bet? Agnés? What have you been doing?"

Magnolia wrapped a hand around Yew's. "Looks like they're about to have a lover's quarrel. Shall we make our leave?"

Yew nodded his (confused) consent, and the two of them walked off.

"It was a simple bet, involving everyone we know." Agnés stated calmly.

"Except me?" Tiz asked, dumbfounded.

Agnés smiled sweetly. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"I'm sorry Agnés." Tiz said quietly.

Agnés frowned. "Whatever for?"

"I need to borrow a line of yours."

"Huh?"

Tiz took a deep breath. "Agnés. I'm afraid, that's unnaceptable!"

 **Happy birthday is all weird, and strange, and weird, and Airy's PoV is weird. So take this weirder thing instead, to fulfil the lack of Alternis in Bravely Second *angry face*. I mean he was in it a little bit, but NOT ENOUGH. Also my French is AWFUL. I'm currently studying it, but I suck at it.**

 **Il est trés charmant- He's very charming!**

 **Il va revenir- He's going to return! (Didn't conjugate that corrects -_-)**

 **Quelle probléme?- Literally, which problem.**

 **Elle va attends- She's going to wait**


End file.
